Beet elevator



O.HAN SEN.

BEET ELEVATOR. APPLICATION HLEn Nov 24. 1919.

1,416, 196 I Patented May 16, 1922.4

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

&

N Ol Hansen, Wlbngao Umrso STATES.

PATENTTOFFICE.

OLE HANSEN, or MENAN, IDAHO.

provements in Beet Elevators, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to beet harvesters and has-particular referenceto a novel beet elevator for transferring the beets from the digginginstrumentalities to a point where they may be conveniently handled orcollected.

To this endthe invention contemplates an elevating device which not onlyremoves the beets in a thoroughly practical and expeditious manner fromthe plow shares of the digging unit but at the same time serves'toseparate earth and waste parts from the beets themselves.

In this connection it is proposed to provide a novel device which isautomatically operated by'th'e movement of the vehicle, whereby therelative speed of the vehicle will be proportionate to the speed of thefeed to thereby successfully handle thebeets lifted from the ground bythe digging unit without danger ofclogging or choking which would be aptto cause the meat of the beets to be bruised and rendered less desirablefor market purposes.

With the above and other-objects inview which will more readily appearthe na ture of the invention "is better understood,

the same consists in the novel construction,

combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described,illustrated and claimed. p i

A preferred and practical embodiment of theinvention is'shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a top plan view of'a machineembodying the novel elevating device.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectionon the line 2 -2 of Figu'rejl'. I I

Figure is avertical sectional view on the line 3+3 of Figure 2.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several figures of the drawings. V I 'In carrying the presentinventlon into effect it is proposed to utilize a frame 1 which ispreferably of open formation as Specification of Letters Patent.

1mm ELEVATOR.

Patented May 16,1922.

' Application filed Noirember 24, 1919. i Serial No. 340,257.

shown in Figure 1 of'the drawings, and

shown in my former Patent No. 1,819,069

dated October 21, 1919. This topping device is provided with means fordepressing and severing the tops of the beets from the beet roots beforethey are removed from the ground, and, like my former construction, iscapable ofbeing adjustably manipulated by the operator from the seat Scarried by the arched frame membert on the main frame 1.

Theopen formation of the main frame 1 conveniently provides for thereception of the present novel elevating unit designated generally as A'and carried upon an inside frame 6 arranged within the main frame 1 andpivotally supported on the axle shaft 3 independently of the said mainframe. By reasonof this particular mounting of the inner frame 6 it willbe apparent that the forward end 7 thereof may be raised and loweredthrough the operators connection 8 to bring the digging unitD carried bythe front end thereof into and out of engagement with the ground, and"also regulate the proper depth at which the plow shares 9 thereof workinthe beet hills. The plows 9 ofjthe' digging unit D are preferably of atype having the elevating fins or guides 9 'which serve to progressivelylift to say, the earth engaging portions of the I plows 9 are preferablyprovided with suitable beet elevating guide rails which lead directly tothe elevating device A, whereby as the beets are removed from the groundand pushed upwardly between the guides 9 they will be engaged bythefeeding or conveyor elements 10 of the elevating device to be therebytransferred toward the top of the machine and into a delivery chute C tobe presently referred to.

Referring more particularly to the novel structural features of theelevating unit A it will be observed from the drawings that the sameessentially comprises a pair of endless elevators or conveyor belts 10which are mounted in converging planes to provide a substantiallyV-SllZlPGfl trough, the bottom of which however, is left open to assistin the disposition of earthy matter or root parts that may cling to thebeet roots. The said conveyor or elevator belts 10 preferably consist ofa pluralit of spaced bars 11 or their equivalent carried upon thesprocket chains 12 which engage over the paired sprockets 13-43 at thelower end of the unit and the similarly arranged sprockets 1 1- at theupper on d of the unit, while the lower edge of each belt may be guidedby the members 11 to prevent spreading. These sprockets are respectivelymounted on the shafts 13 and 14 whose intermediate portions may beconnected by a suitable longitudinal brace 15, shown in Figure 2 of thedrawings. The opposite ends of shafts 13 may be supported in journalarms 13 carried by the plow shares and the braces 16 at the rear end ofthe inner frame. By reason of the open formation of the endless conveyorbelts, and

their special arrangement and disposition with reference to each otherit will be apparent that while they rotate or travel together theyefficiently perform the functions of a sieve or sifter for removingforeign matter from the beet root-s, said action being assisted by therelative movement of the conveyor belts in their normal operation.

Any suitable and convenient means may be utilized for operating theconveyor belts 1010 in proper synchronism with the movement of thevehicle. However, a convenient and practical. means for effecting themovement of the belts is shown by the drawings, wherefrom it will beobserved that the axle shaft 3 which pen-forms the function of a drivingshaft, has mounted thereon adjacent the traction wheels 1, therelatively large driving sprockets 17. Each of these sprockets isadapted to be engaged by an endless sprocket chain 18 that passes overthe idlers 19 and 20 properly spaced on the rear end of the inner frame6, and also passes over the combined transmission gear-and-sprocketdriving unit 21 carried by a shaft 22 at the rear end of the innerframe 1. The connections described are of course duplicated for each ofthe conveyor belts 10 and therefore serve to drive both the said beltsin unison to effect the transferring of the beet roots from the diggingunit- D to the delivery chute C.

The said chute C is preferably of the for mation shown in Figure 1 ofthe drawings and has its relatively wide end 23 arranged beneath thedischarge end of the belts 10 for the purpose of receiving the beetroots as they are eected from the elevating device A. The delivery endof the said chute C is relatively constricted as shown in the drawingsto thereby assist in guiding the beets properly into a receptacle ordropping the same in the furrow behind the machine. In connection withthe delivery chute C it will be observed that the same is preferably ofa mobile character. That is to say, the chute is mounted on an. arcuatetrack 25 carried by the rear end of the inner frame, whereby itsdelivery end 2% may be shifted from one side to the other to deliver thebeets at any desired point.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present device aims toprovide an adjustable inner frame carrying a novel beet elevating andcleaning device which removes the beets in a thoroughly satisfactorymanner from the plow shares and delivers them into a distributing chutefor the purpose of facilitating their handling after the diggingoperation. The arrangement proposed not only prevents damage and injuryto the beet roots but at the same time saves considerable manual laborand expense incident to the initial preparation of the beet roots forthe market.

lVithout further description it is thought that the many features andadvantages of the invention will be readily apparent and it will ofcourse be understood'that changes in the form, proportion, and minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from thespirit of the invention or scope of the apgended claims.

I claim:

1. In a beet harvesting machine, the combin ation with the diggingelements, of a conveyer frame having its lower end carried by thedigging elements and its upper end supported in the frame of themachine, said conveyer frame consisting of a. pair of sprocket shaftsarranged in vertically converging relation and i on rnale d in th e d iggi n g elements, a second pair of vertically couv ing sprocket shaftsjournaled at one end in a frame part of the machine, longitudinal bracescormecting corresponding shafts of the opposite pairs of sprocketslnifts,sprocket wheels carried by the sprocket shafts, conveyer beltscarried by the sprocket wheels to provide a vertically convergingconveyer trough, and membersfor guiding the lower edge portions of theinner flights of the opposite conveyor belts.

2. In a beet harvesting machine, the co1nbination with the diggingelements, of an elevating conveyer having vertically converging conveyorbelts each including a pair of sprocket chains connected by transversebars, shafts carrying sprockets for the chains and journaled in thedigging elements, and a device for transmitting motion to the conveyerbelts including shafts carrying sprockets over whichthe chain portionsof the consprocket carrying shafts which support the veyer belts pass atthe upper end of the conupper end of the conveyer belts. 10 Veyer, andsaid device also including a frame In testimony whereof I hereunto afiixmy carrying sprocket wheels and chains taking signature in the presenceof two witnesses. over said sprocket Wheels, driving sprockets OLEHANSEN. carried by an axle of the machine and en- Witnesses: gaging withsaid chains, and an operative WARDENJONES connection between said chainsand the D. B. BALLANTYNE.

